What is the cost of living in Springfield?

Springfield has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 92.7, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 71.6, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,203/month.

What is the median salary in Springfield?

The median salary in Springfield is $70,269 annually (mean: $73,870). Top occupations include Registered Nurses, General and Operations Managers, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Springfield?

The violent crime rate in the Springfield area is 277 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1665 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Springfield?

The state of IL has 3,845 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 14:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Springfield?

Infant center-based childcare in the Springfield area averages $12,257 per year. Preschool averages $9,481/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Springfield a good place to relocate?

Springfield has a Life Score of 52.5/100 (D), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Springfield sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Springfield ranks #125 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Springfield, IL

LiveAbility 55.5/100 places Springfield #125 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

92.7
Cost index (US=100): $1,203
2BR rent / mo: $70,269
Median salary: 55.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Springfield ranks #125 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (55.5/100), with its strongest marks in housing and safety.

#125
of 387 US metros · Above median: 12,710,158
metro-area population: 277
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 3,845
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: low hazard (26/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Springfield ranks #125 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 92.7 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,203/mo, median salary $70,269; LiveAbility Score 55.5/100, strongest in housing and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 55.5/100 places Springfield #125 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power sits mid-band: BEA RPP 92.7 between corpus terciles 91.5 and 97.0. Median 2BR rent $1,203/mo.

LiveAbility 55.5/100 puts Springfield in the top third (#125 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Springfield area is 93,500.

Springfield vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

56 Top 32% higher than 68% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Springfield housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Springfield MSA; housing RPP 71.6 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,203/mo.

Studio

$829

/month

1 Bedroom

$970

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,203

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,611

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,682

/month

Springfield wages and employment

Springfield posts 93,500 total employment with median salary $70,269.

Median Salary

$70,269

Mean Salary

$73,870

Total Employment

93,500

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Registered Nurses	$84,220
General and Operations Managers	$95,990
Retail Salespersons	$33,450
Cashiers	$31,920
Office Clerks, General	$47,990

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Springfield area from NCES.

Schools

3,845

Enrollment

1,844,783

Student:Teacher

14:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Springfield area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$12,257

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,556

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,481

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Springfield's composite Life Score is 52.5/100 (D), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

56/100

Above average

Wages

62/100

Above average

Rent

63/100

Above average

Crime

63/100

Above average

Schools

42/100

Below average

Childcare

26/100

Weak

Environment

32/100

Weak

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Springfield ranks #125 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 55.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (63/100)

Housing

63
Safety

63
Air quality

63
Job market

62
Schools

58
Cost of living

56
Climate

41
Low hazard

26

What this shows Springfield's strongest dimensions are housing and safety; its weakest among scored dims is low hazard at 26/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Springfield to

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Waterbury-Shelton Waterloo-Cedar Falls Watertown-Fort Drum Wausau Weirton-Steubenville

Metros near Springfield on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Springfield on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Springfield cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Springfield wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Springfield?

Springfield runs a $70,269 median salary at a 92.7 cost index, ranking #125 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Springfield's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Springfield head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Springfield
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.